News stories from Saturday March 22, 1975

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

Secretary of State Kissinger announced tonight in Jerusalem that he was suspending his current efforts to achieve a new Egyptian-Israeli agreement on Sinai because of "irreconcilable" differences between the two sides. He said he would return to Washington today. The announcement followed a final series of meetings between Mr. Kissinger and Israeli leaders in which he failed to get from them a compromise to keep the talks going. Earlier, Egypt also refused to ease her position on crucial questions. [New York Times] Rapidly advancing Communist forces in South Vietnam captured two more district capitals and a provincial capital, increased pressure on the city of Hue and appeared to be preparing an offensive against Saigon. A Saigon government spokesman said that after a heavy bombardment by North Vietnamese artillery, radio contact was lost with the defenders of Gia Nghia, capital of Quang Duc Province, 105 miles northeast of Saigon. The town presumably was overrun. [New York Times] Tens of thousands of South Vietnamese refugees are stranded without water or food and many are facing starvation in their panicky exodus from the Central Highlands. Nearly 100,000 refugees were expected in Tuy Hoa, a coastal city where the refugees are flocking, over the weekend, but only several thousand frightened and shaky peasants, civil servants and children had arrived by this afternoon. Most of the refugees were stranded beyond the Da Rang River, about 10 miles from Tuy Hoa, because an emergency pontoon bridge had not been completed. [New York Times] Marshal Lon Nol, the President of Cambodia, has packed his valuable belongings and obtained passports for himself and his entire family, reliable sources at the presidential palace in Phnom Penh said. His removal has been urged in Cambodia and in Washington as a step toward ending the war. The palace sources said that Marshal Lon Nol has told his aides that his departure "will depend on the situation." [New York Times] Negotiations for a new Egyptian-Israeli agreement on Sinai appeared to have narrowed to the crucial question of how much territory Israel would agree to give up in return for Egyptian political assurances that fall short of Israel's original demand. The Israeli cabinet held an extraordinary sabbath session to discuss the latest Egyptian "modifications" and demands brought back by Secretary of State Kissinger, who made an overnight trip to Aswan for consultations with President Anwar Sadat. [New York Times] House Democrats predicted that Congress will have a new tax bill, providing some relief for nearly every American taxpayer, ready for the President's signature this week. "We will have a compromise," Carl Albert, the House Speaker, said after a rare Saturday session in which the House voted 281 to 18 to send to a joint Senate-House conference committee differing tax proposals passed by the House and Senate. [New York Times] Urban policy makers in the Ford administration have concluded, despite vigorous objections from many local and political leaders and experts, that the "urban crisis" of the 1960's is over. Even with the emergence in recent months of the fiscal squeeze between reduced tax revenue because of the recession and rising costs resulting from inflation, Washington still tends to give the troubles of the cities low priority. [New York Times] Gen. Mustafa Barzani, the 72-year-old leader of the Iraqi Kurdish rebellion, said that the "fighting is over," that his revolt has no foreign support and that he is considering taking refuge in the United States. Iran has withdrawn much of the support it had been giving the rebels. The general's statements were relayed by newsmen who arrived in Teheran, where it was also reported that Iraqi Kurds, including some members of the general's armed forces, were fleeing to Iran. [New York Times]